Remote usage of the Dell console switches

You need to have access to a host in the farm with X forwarding enabled. Using X compression will make the display respond quicker:

ssh -C -X <hostname>

Start the remote console tool via:

/share/doc/farms/Dell_Remote_Console_Switch_Software/Dell_Remote_Console_Switch_Software

Selection of the switches can be done via the tab Remote Console Switches, The following switches exist:

2161DS 03-53-33      the switch in the bulldozer cluster
2161DS 03-DD-F9      the switch in the server cabinet (named ruif)

On the tab Servers it is possible to connect to one of the attached hosts by double clicking the host name.

End a session by closing the containing window with the cross button in upper right corner.

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Using 'magic sysrq' keystrokes in the Dell DS2161 Console switch

Although impossible to do via the provided GUI, there is a magic way to get the "Alt-sysrq-<character>" keystrokes to work on this thing.

The trick is as follows: the keystroke macros that you can specify in the GUI are stored on disk in a set of SQL commands, but 'not' as specified, but in key-press-and-release codes. By manually changing this script, and moving the SysRQ-release instruction to a later position in the macro, you get the desired behaviour.

This is the magic line you should enter into the vpdbase.script file (change the initial number as needed):

 INSERT INTO OPTIONS VALUES(44,'MACRO_Alt-PrtScrn+B','true,false,18,true,false,154,true,true,66,false,true,66,false,false,154,false,false,18,')

where

true,false,18	Alt-press
true,false,154	PrintScrn-press
true,true,66	"B" press
false,true,66	"B" release
false,false,154	PrintScrn-release
false,false,18	Alt-release

Normally, true,false,154 and false,false,154 would follow on eachother immediately, but by editing this file manually you can tear them apart.

Restart the Dell Remote colsole application and reboot your system (after doing sysctl -w kernel.sysrq=1)

Other keys: "S" = 83, "B" = 66, ...